What happened to funk?

[bluewine]

Sorry... then how could you call yourself an expert?


"Last Days and Times" with "Power" came out in the very early 70's. How did you miss that?

Back then they were an amazing live band, before the pyro and miming started.

Expert, I think my history and the fact that I was there makes me sort of an expert.

And remember this thread was almost dead until I started posting. So some of these guys have an interest in my opinions

 

[BobaFret]

Expert, I think my history and the fact that I was there makes me sort of an expert.

And remember this thread was almost dead until I started posting. So some of these guys have an interest in my opinions

I must admit, I do like to read your stuff. I wonder what your off-line opinion is like, this one has to be some created persona.

 

[Brad Johnson]

They wanted to make some money.

All good guys from Jersey City.

That's what happened to most of them. Crossing over meant the opportunity for much bigger financial rewards. I know they made a heck of a lot more money for "Celebration" than " Love the Life You Live".

 

[bluewine]

I must admit, I do like to read your stuff. I wonder what your off-line opinion is like, this one has to be some created persona.

Shy & quiet and humble

 

[Brad Johnson]

Expert, I think my history and the fact that I was there makes me sort of an expert.

The fact that you were where... at 99% of the recordings? That you were there on the scene but don't much about early EWF which came shortly thereafter. I'm a few years younger than you and wasn't friends with Sly like you but it appears I somehow caught stuff that you didn't.

I'm usually more than willing to give the benefit of the doubt but sorry, this one smells really funny. Does Graham know he's not on most of the recordings? Was that even him playing live?

And remember this thread was almost dead until I started posting. So some of these guys have an interest in my opinions

And even more people have an interest in Lady Gaga and Justin Bieber... so what does that prove? That it's true what you said about Graham only being on 1% of the recordings when he was with the band?

Is that the other proof that's hard to find? I hope not.

 

[bluewine]

That's what happened to most of them. Crossing over meant the opportunity for much bigger financial rewards. I know they made a heck of a lot more money for "Celebration" than " Love the Life You Live".

He he he, or live at the sex machine.

 

[bluewine]

The fact that you were where... at 99% of the recordings? That you were there on the scene but don't much about early EWF which came shortly thereafter. I'm a few years younger than you and wasn't friends with Sly like you but it appears I somehow caught stuff that you didn't.

I'm usually more than willing to give the benefit of the doubt but sorry, this one smells really funny. Does Graham know he's not on most of the recordings? Was that even him playing live?

And even more people have an interest in Lady Gaga and Justin Bieber... so what does that prove? That it's true what you said about Graham only being on 1% of the recordings when he was with the band?

Is that the other proof that's hard to find? I hope not.

I met sly a few times but were not friends. Last time I spoke to him he was 44 years old.

 

[bluewine]

I somehow caught stuff that you didn't.

I'm sure you did as well as other over 55 cats. I love hearing about stuff from the 60s & 70s I may have missed.

You know I grew up ten minutes outside of Manhattan, in that sense I was really lucky.

 

[DWBass]

Tons of funk still out there. Is it popular? no. Is popular music usually good? IMO no.

It's not popular only because radio refuses to play it! What people hear, people will follow! Unfortunately not everyone has internet or the resources to seek out what's available! Damn shame!

 

[Brad Johnson]

I'm sure you did as well as other over 55 cats. I love hearing about stuff from the 60s & 70s I may have missed.

You know I grew up ten minutes outside of Manhattan, in that sense I was really lucky.

Cool.

I grew up in the country in rural Maryland so I had to look for anything I could fine. And even with that, I found a lot.

 

[DWBass]

You know I grew up ten minutes outside of Manhattan, in that sense I was really lucky.

Where at? I grew up in Mount Vernon. Have we met?

 

[Brad Johnson]

Well, I am not sure I can prove it. If I find any documentation I'll let you know.

I may have been way off on the 99 %. Larry probably played most of the bass parts on the first couple of albums. Whole new thing, dance to the music, life and maybe stand.

Cool. I knew Sly played bass but to my knowledge and more important to my ear Graham was the man while he remained in that camp. It didn't surprise me that he left, knowing what I did of his background at the time. Sly was legendary with the bridges he burned and being hours late to his shows. It was a shame to see.

The trade make style Larry plays with gcs seems way different than what he was doing with sly to me.

If you listen to "Thank You" and "Hair", do they really sound that different tonally? Not to me. His pops don't sound like other guys even now... it was just a far more muscular and old school style. I agree with Larry, Keni Burke of the Five Stairsteps ("From Me To You") was probably the closest I heard to that original Graham sound.

I saw the first version of GCS when they played in DC at the Carter Barron Ampitheater in 1974. Nobody played bass like that at that time. Nobody.


Did you ever check out his work with Betty Davis? Sick.

 

[Brad Johnson]

It's not popular only because radio refuses to play it! What people hear, people will follow! Unfortunately not everyone has internet or the resources to seek out what's available! Damn shame!

It's been like that for decades.

I'm glad I came up when I did. You could turn on AM radio and hear Sly, the Beatles, Motown, Stax, stuff like the Strawberry Alarm Clock, T Rex, damn near anything in the wide net that was young music at the time... on one station.


Then the labelling started and marketing took over. Soon you had Ethel Merman singing disco.

 

[KCLRbass]

Here's the opposite of that IMO:

So, so good. Thanks for this, Brad.

 

[DWBass]

I saw the first version of GCS when they played in DC at the Carter Barron Amphitheater in 1974. Nobody played bass like that at that time. Nobody.

Nobody!! When I saw them do (er mime) Pow on Soul Train, I almost fell out my chair! Singing, dancing and playing like a crazed wolverine! Even up into the early 90's folks were challenging that Hair was double-tracked and Larry played it live on the radio! While a lot of the stuff he played with Sly was groundbreaking, he was being subdued musically. Beyond the issues with Sly, Larry had to go out and do his own thing! And I'm damn glad he did!

 

[DWBass]

It's been like that for decades.

I'm glad I came up when I did. You could turn on AM radio and hear Sly, the Beatles, Motown, Stax, stuff like the Strawberry Alarm Clock, T Rex, damn near anything in the wide net that was young music at the time... on one station.

Right there with you, brother!

 

[Brad Johnson]

So, so good. Thanks for this, Brad.

My pleasure, that's one of my favorite JB cuts and they do it justice. No telling what you'll find when you go done the Youtube rabbit hole.

 

[lucas vigor]

Expert, I think my history and the fact that I was there makes me sort of an expert.

And remember this thread was almost dead until I started posting. So some of these guys have an interest in my opinions

I place great emphasis on someone's opinion who lived through a certain era.

Why? Because although one can definitely learn a lot from just listening to music, much like with art, film and literature....there are and were many forces (cultural and historical) which help to shape something. So someone who has lived through something was also exposed to the same elements the author lived through, thus...similar viewpoints.

Take a typical 70's funk band. The original musicians probably had lifetime exposure to gospel, soul, motown, etc...even possibly a little new wave (the use of synth and space effects), jazz fusion like Herbie Hancock's headhunters and of course Weather Report... the music they then created was shaped by those influences...but some band of white kids messing around with funk in this day and age? Sorry, but it lacks substance. They (more then likely) just decided one day "hey, lets be a funk band" ...and the result? End up needing to dress up like Mummies.


I don't much like "updates" and "retreads" and "reboots" to original styles...it seems to me most miss the important aspects of whatever they are trying to mimic.

Seems like when you put the words "neo" in front of something, the end result is often too distilled or full of kitsch to be of any worth.

I will give you one current example. I am a part of the "tiki" scene (my bands)...

the original tiki music was called exotica, and was performed by jazz musicians with orchestral backgrounds. Thus, you had the music of Les Baxter, Arthur Lyman, Martin Denny, Esquivel, etc...

The music was definitely jazz based. Hallmarks included vibraphones, bird calls, ambience...basically a hollywood cinematic jazz based take on foreign music from africa, the carribean, polynesia and asia....

Nowadays, there is a huge resurgence that is called "tiki revival", and except for a few great bands that really did thier homework, most of it is just surf rock bands and garage rock bands that write songs about tiki stuff, may have a few bird calls, but nevertheless have no elements of jazz in their music. It is (for the most part) very simplistic, 3 chord music which is nothing like the lush, orchestral stuff of the original scene.

As a result, I like very little of it.

I feel the same thing has happened with Funk, and even with another genre I have fondness for, Prog rock.

Having said that, I do like a lot of "neo soul", because I think that is one genre that actually got it right.

And PS, I am no longer in "the Hula Girls" band, which though is a great band, also had little to do with the original "exotica" style.

 

[DWBass]

Having said that, I do like a lot of "neo soul", because I think that is one genre that actually got it right.

And guess what? Radio doesn't play much of it beyond Jill Scott, Kem, Angie Stone, Ledesi and maybe a couple others. There is some really good Neo-Soul out there. Really good grown folks, progressive soul music and radio won't touch it!

 

[lucas vigor]

And guess what? Radio doesn't play much of it beyond Jill Scott, Kem, Angie Stone, Ledesi and maybe a couple others. There is some really good Neo-Soul out there. Really good grown folks, progressive soul music and radio won't touch it!

There is some GREAT Neo soul out there! I really love Meshell's first two records. Good times.